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Green bean casserole from scratch – Dairy free!

As I mentioned before Thanksgiving, this was my first holiday season being dairy free. It was actually much easier than expected, except when going to other people’s homes for meals. One of the easiest methods I found was to make sure I offer to make my favorite dishes…then I can make sure they are dairy free! And to be honest, none of the other guests even know the difference! My very favorite holiday dish is green bean casserole, and the thought of not being able to eat this creamy and crunchy, salty and bright dish actually made me sad. In years past, I’m not going to lie, I was a green bean casserole purest…canned soup, canned beans, etc. If you follow my recipes, you know that is odd since I don’t “do” canned goods often. But going dairy free meant taking a whole other approach, and that started with blanching fresh green beans. I cook fresh green beans at least weekly, but this was the first time I attempted blanching. While the process is a bit arduous, however the result was worth the extra effort. The beans were crunchy, earthy, delicious and colorful. The secret, I discovered from some research, is to make sure the boiling water is incredibly salty (I read somewhere you want to have the water be twice as salty as the ocean). The salt not only adds some flavor (don’t worry, just a tad of saltiness seeps in), but it also helps bring out the vibrant green color of the beans. The sauce of this recipe was very easy. You can use mushrooms instead of leeks, they will both add that great umami flavor to the dish. I only used leeks because of some of the diners’ adversities to mushrooms. The onions, mushrooms, sherry and broth all simmer together to create an incredible flavor that will make your holiday, or any day, meal memorable…but don’t mess with the canned French’s Fried Onions…those are a flavor/texture not worth messing with!